To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, our Hispanic/Latinx affinity group, GSDyM, has put together a list of recommendations ranging from hit Netflix shows in Spanish that have become internationally successful to works of literature to authentic places to shop/eat. There is an abundance of Hispanic talent out there…. Please enjoy our recommendations to help support the Hispanic community as you become inspired by our beautiful culture.

Movies

We created a selection based on our favorite award-winning movies and some “classics.” Some of these movies are great for learning Spanish. If the Spanish is too quick for you, we recommend using subtitles to follow along, or simply watch in English and know that you are supporting Hispanic filmmakers. Grab some Takis con salsa and hit play.

• • Roma: This award-winning film was recently nominated for best picture at the Oscars. The main actress, Yalitza Aparicio is the first indigenous Mexican Best Actress Oscar nominee. It’s a masterpiece in cinema.

• Selena: A Mexican-American, English-speaking girl learns to sing Tejano music in Spanish and becomes a groundbreaking star in the Tejano music genre. This movie deals with several themes: women in music (specifically, Tejano music), the expectations/judgements of Mexican-Americans who do not speak fluent Spanish and being a “crossover” musician.

• Ya no estoy aquí (I’m No Longer Here): I recently watched the movie on Netflix and really enjoyed the art, music, cinematography and story around it. It is also very close to my heart as it is based in my hometown, Monterrey, Mexico, and it’s about a 17-year-old “Cholombiano” who escapes Mexico and tries to make a life for himself in New York City.

• Nosotros los nobles (The Noble Family): This is a classic, Mexican dark comedy about a rich family with spoiled children who go from living the dream life to not having a single cent.
• Como caído del cielo: Inspired by the life of Mexican legendary actor-singer Pedro Infante, this movie stars comedian Omar Chaparro who portrays Infante’s beloved music beautifully.
• Live Twice, Love Once: This is a sweet, light movie about a man who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease seeking out his childhood love—good for learning Spanish (subtitled).
• Orfeu Negro/Black Orpheus: A classic movie set in Brazil during Carnival intertwined with Greek myth of Orpheus; largely Afro-Brazilian cast.
• McFarland, USA: This is a great family movie based on a true story of runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California, and building a cross country team in a predominantly Latino high school.
• Mi Vida Loca: Two teen best friends who consider themselves cholas and are immersed in gang life in 90s Echo Park find their friendship put to the test when they both become pregnant by the same young man. I love the look of the girls in this movie. It reminds me of the way girls dressed when I was in school. It also portrays teen gang life and neighborhood violence.
• Lone Star: This murder mystery goes back and forth in time from the late 50s to the 90s and is set in a border town. Themes include Mexican American life in a border town, the theme of “borders” and what that means literally and figuratively, police corruption, and also racism in a town that includes a large Hispanic and Black population that are both still distinctly “separate.”
• La Bamba: Ritchie Valens went from doing farm work to becoming one of the first Chicano rock stars. His hit song was sung entirely in Spanish. I love how this movie portrays the work ethic of the farm workers, life for Californian Chicanos and the fact that it’s about early rock music.
• Stand and Deliver: A group of Hispanic kids from a school in the “bad part of town” who were essentially written off as “unteachable” learn advanced mathematics. It’s an honest look at the educational system in underserved communities, the Hispanic family structure and expectations within, and a bit about internalized racism.

TV Shows 

Netflix and other streaming platforms are doing a great job bringing Spanish-language shows to the U.S. AND making them international hits. Here is our list of must-see TV shows:

• Club de Cuervos: A comedy centered around a brother and sister having a power struggle over their family’s treasured fútbol (soccer) club.
• La Casa de Papel (Money Heist): An action/drama show about a group of criminals trying to pull off the biggest bank robbery in Spain.
• Latin History for Morons: Inspired by the absence of Latinos in his son’s school, John Leguizamo breaks down 3,000 years of Latin American history.

• Celia: This show focuses on the life of artist Celia Cruz and how she went from being a shy, skinny girl from Cuba to the Queen of Salsa. The music will make you want to dance!

• Jane the Virgin: American romantic comedy and telenovela full of Spanglish, food and dancing
• El tiempo entre costuras (The Time in Between): This Spanish drama series is based on the novel by Maria Dueñas (book also recommended). It is about a Madrileña seamstress turned spy who finds herself stuck in Morocco around the time of the Spanish Civil War. It is a beautiful story, and the costumes are amazing.
• Velvet: a Spanish drama show set in the 80s about a love story between a seamstress  and a young man destined to inherit the majestic fashion empire ruled by his father.
• Immigration Nation: Documentary on Netflix based on how ICE has changed since the last presidency

• Orange is the New Black: They have dynamic characters with cultural depth–celebrated for having a diverse cast.

Literature

Book-lovers, check out these must-read titles in English or Spanish!

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo: Brazilian novelist, Paulo Coehlo, is one of my favorite authors. You’ve probably heard of his best-selling book called The Alchemist, which at one point was the most translated book in history (other than the Bible, I think). My other favorite books from him include: Brida, Veronika Decides to Die and The Devil and Miss Prym.

• Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal: Martinez-Neal is a Peruvian American children’s book author and illustrator.

• The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self‑Portrait: Frida’s amazing illustrated journal reflects her art, writings and love for Diego.
• Other book recommendations:
  • Tear This Heart Out by Ángeles Mastretta, Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Chicana Feminist by Martha P. Cotera, The House of Spirit by Isabel Allende, Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Music

Whether you enjoy music for dancing, relaxing, inspiration or nostalgia, these bands and albums have you covered!

• Canciones de Mi Padre, Linda Ronstadt: If you love listening to mariachis, or mariachi music makes you tear up (like it does me), check out Linda’s album of traditional mariachi music.

• De Mexico, Reik: album has acoustic covers of classic songs
• Los Lobos Del Este De Los Angeles: Los Lobos performs traditional party songs in Spanish.
• Bidi Bidi Banda: It’s an Austin-based Selena cover band!
• Mi Tierra and 90 Millas: Two of Gloria Estefan’s Spanish-language albums
• Little Joe y La Familia: Tex-Mex Funk
• Flaco Jiménez NPR Session
• Concha Buika: Spanish Gitana music
• Also check out music by: Los Ángeles Azules, Cuco, Máximo Grado, Los Nuevos Rebeldes, Banda Renovación, Marca Registrada, Larry Hernández, El Potro De Sinaloa, Grupo Delta, Gerardo Ortiz, Lenin Ramírez, Javier Torres

Website/Blog/Media outlets

Rejoice, social media hounds and webbies, we’ve got your online entertainment right here.

• Remezcla is a content website that keeps you up to date with anything cool in the Latinx community. Right now, they are also putting on live music events that are so fun!
• Pero Like, Buzzfeed’s hispanic community, has a ton of fun content on Hispanic culture in both English and Spanish. Great way to learn about different cultures while having fun!

• Se regalan dudas – Spanish-language podcast. The focus of the podcast is to speak about taboo themes without prejudice, like mental health, abortion, rape and sexuality.
• We are mitú is a channel with a Latino point of view. They have very cool and informative content about music, food, sex, politics and all things that matter on both their website and Instagram page.
• Latinx Parenting – Parenting resources rooted in social justice and children’s rights

ATX Restaurants 

Hungry? Restaurants are slowly starting to open back up, but there’s always “para llevar.”

• Cuantos Tacos: Food truck with the best tacos in Austin

• Suerte: Suadero tacos have been featured in many magazines and documentaries.
• El Alma: higher-end Mexican food restaurant with craft cocktails
• Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop: Mexican breakfast and lunch, pan dulce
• Mr. Natural: Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free Mexican food and bakery
• Hecho En Mexico: They are family owned and their mole is sooo good. I recommend the sampler mole plate!
• Granny’s Tacos: They have the best fat breakfast tacos from a trailer, and that’s a hill I’ll die on.
• The Vegan Nom: Food truck with vegan tacos and queso
• Licha’s Cantina: The food of Mexico City in a space with East Austin vibes

Local Culture

• Esquina Tango (dance studio): Salsa, Bachata, Samba, Tango, Salsa Aerobics, Afro-Latin dance, Conversational Portuguese classes (Right now, they are offering online classes by donation and outdoor classes by reservation.)

• Austin Samba: Learn to play drums or dance samba with others in the Austin community. Perform at local parades, events and Carnaval Brasileiro. There is a small donation for new members during open season (begins in May). Do not need to have played an instrument or danced samba to participate.
• Roy Lozano’s Ballet Folklorico: Classes in ballet folklorico for children and adults of all levels
• Mexic-Arte Museum: They also hold the annual Viva la Vida Parade celebrating the Day of the Dead.
• Puerto Rican Cultural Center: They offer classes in dance, theater, music and also hold workshops and events.

Creators (artists, local craft makers, etc.)

Gift-giving season is right around the corner!

• @FridaFridayATX: This is Austin’s first-and-only monthly WOC-centered mercado y más supporting and amplifying WOC in Tejaslandia! It’s more than a market, it’s a movement.

• @VeryThat: A San Antonio native who creates products that resonate with the Hispanic community, such as mugs, stickers and calendars with popular Hispanic figures and phrases like, “Chingona como mi Madre,” “Échale Ganas,” “Tacos Before Vatos” and more. Check her out!

• Carlos Bazán Ramos is a Mixtec (Oaxaca) painter and muralist. He is known to be one of the promising young artists of plastic Oaxacan arts and was recently selected to collaborate with Disney.

• Dr. Lakra: A Mexican artist and tattooist based in Oaxaca, Dr. Lakra works on vintage printed materials and found objects instead of skin, incorporating images of pinups, old-time Mexican businessmen and professional wrestlers.
• @PriscilaGarciaJacquier: Colombian journalist dedicated to deconstructing Latinidad
• @thenycyogini: Patricia Pinto is a Venezulan yogi whose work is inspiring and effective.
•  @perreopandemico: Christine Amy used to be a creative at GSD&M. She’s created an Instagram account where she rewrites lyrics of famous reggaeton songs to make light of the pandemic and 2020 in general (mostly in Spanish, Puerto Rican).

Every year for the past 30 years, Adweek’s Media All-Star award has honored the most trailblazing media executives in the business. And this year, with little surprise to us, Carmen Graf was named an Adweek Media All-Star. Ask anyone who has worked with Carmen Graf, executive director of GSD&M’s media department, and they’ll tell you why she’s one of the 12 executives in the country to be honored this year.

Adweek saw no oversight into her many achievements such as being named a Media Star of the Future by Newsweek, earning a Silver Effie Award, being named a media finalist at Cannes and being part of the BMW/Graffiti campaign, which Forbes named one of the best social media campaigns of all time.

With her intuitive and creative approach, Carmen exemplifies the quality of charisma required for her capacity of work, and in her 24 years at GSD&M, she has channeled that energy, creativity and forward-thinking to make serious moves for the media department. You’re an all-star, Carmen! Congrats. Learn more about the honor right here.

Artwork by GSD&M designer, Laura Guardalabene

Aerie, American Eagle’s undies brand, has done away with advertising retouched models and is keeping it au naturel, and we (and its sales numbers) are in favor. As a group of strong-minded, creative female consumers in the advertising industry, we had some opinions about this business decision and its recent news, naturally.

Heather Apple, senior writer. Bold as she is blonde.

“Brands can support women for good and for profit. That’s what Aerie’s success proves: These aren’t mutually exclusive. It’s common sense. We spend so much time trying to understand our target; we should represent them—all of them.

“We still have a lot of strides to make to represent women of different sizes, ages and ethnicities, so if we could stop overlooking (and Photoshopping) those women, that’d be a big deal. If one brand shows real women, other brands will follow. Then eventually, we’ll see powerful, smart women of all shapes and sizes portrayed in the media.”

Alicia Ross, project manager. Only thing realer than her is her curls.

“I have two teenage sisters, 18 and 16. And even though we’re close, with social media, I have so much access into their personal thoughts because it’s 2016, and if they don’t tweet about it, then it didn’t happen.

“A recent tweet from my 18-year-old sister: ‘Buy all this makeup and I’m still ugly.’

“What? Nooooo.

“And from my 16-year-old sister: ‘This last year of body positivity toward myself (and everyone else) has really paid off. I love myself; ain’t no shame in my game. But as with anything, I still have progress to make.’

“That makes me super happy, but damn, why do 16-year-olds have to spend a year focusing on body positivity?

“So, if they’re shopping at a place where they can walk in and see attainable, realistic beauty where there are pictures of girls with folds in their stomach while sitting at the beach—because THAT’S WHAT BODIES ACTUALLY DO WHEN YOU SIT ON THE BEACH—then I feel really awesome about that. That’s where I want them to shop. That’s where I want to shop for them.”

Summer Ortiz, studio artist. You should see the girl sketch.

“Having had my own body issues through my adolescence and into adulthood, I’ll admit that I’ve been the person to give a perplexed sneer at this movement toward ‘real’ women in advertising.

“I’ve thought to myself: ‘Why is she in an ad? If a woman who looks like that can be in something like this, anyone could. I could.’

“But isn’t that the point? I was conditioned to think I should feel inferior to the women in ads. But why? Real women are beautiful.

“And from a sales perspective, this tactic is smart. If I see a woman with a body that more closely resembles mine, wearing something I too think I can look good in, I feel more confident purchasing it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen something on a model and purchased it, only to try it on and be reminded that I am not 6’1″ and a size 00. And then, not only do I feel badly about myself, but I feel negatively toward that brand, and I am less likely to buy from it again.

“This kind of advertising could change that cycle.”

Leslie Shaffer, creative director. She woke up like this.

“I love that this was a pure business move. Aerie didn’t stop retouching because of its own principles. It did it because it knew young women would be into it and spend their money with Aerie. That says a lot for a generation that gets a bad rap most of the time.

“Let’s stop advertising to some sad, imagined lowest common denominator and start assuming people are as smart and confident as they really are.”

Our experiences are different, but among us women, there’s a common trend: We’re all craving some realness and some rawness—some curves on the beach and some butts at the pool—because it’s time for brands to start reflecting its audience, not the other way around. Talk about an idea that makes a difference.

By Veronica Penaloza, Media Intern

In my past semester as an intern at the agency, I’ve come to recognize that a huge topic for GSD&M’s media department is ad blocking. The following is my reflection on the topic and how we’ve created solutions that make a difference for our clients and consumers.

Ad blocking is a sensitive topic for the media world. With the rise of programmatic, DSPs (Demand Side Platform) and SSPs (Supply Side Platform), GSD&M recognized that turning off banner ads is more than a fad—it is likely to stay, and performance will be improved with time.

According to a survey by Adobe and PageFair, 28 percent of people in the U.S. browse the web using ad blockers. However, we have found that ad blockers directly affect vendor performance and is one of the reasons why partners under-deliver impressions. As such, consumers are at the forefront of today’s interconnected world and will remain so for the long term.

With this in mind, GSD&M has taken a mindful approach to the current digital trend and is moving forward with alternative options that still allow the content to reach the target consumer using a sponsor-content model, which includes native ads.

GSD&M has already had the opportunity to conduct creative and native-ad media placements with a few key clients. LeapFrog, for example, leveraged its unique children’s educational products through “influencers who believed in the brand’s message” on social media platforms. The media team drafted a native strategy that gave community mavens the freedom to create their own content while incorporating LeapFrog’s brand experience into their own personal content. The campaign outperformed initial KPIs on different social media platforms.

To further the brand’s efforts, our LeapFrog media team partnered with BuzzFeed to produce and publish the video “9 Things I’m Excited to Teach My Kids: Presented by BuzzFeed and LeapFrog.” With more than 400 comments and over 600,000 views on YouTube, the partnership succeeded in reaching an audience that might have otherwise never experienced the content.

Looking ahead into 2016, a lot of GSD&M’s media plans will include more consumer interaction and innovative organic placements as more brands express interest in joining the stream of sponsored content. With ad blocking specifically, we recognize its ability to alter the industry, and so we are rethinking how to further grow the relationships brands have with consumers.

Remaining on the vanguard and leading by example, GSD&M will continue to serve ads that organically live in the user path, adapt to publishers’ internal strategies and solve the current challenge of ad blocking. Once again, GSD&M stays ahead of the curve in the digital media space, further exemplifying our vision “Ideas that Make a Difference” into our clients’ media catalog.

On the making of Southwest Airline’s latest work, “High School Reunion” – this was a fun spot to make. Everyone who goes to their high school reunion enters with some baggage. It’s inevitable. You’re now a confident, successful adult, but you walk into that room and a small part of you is transported back to high school and everything that goes along with it. We liked everyone turning to look at our hero, and for a brief moment, you see her revert to her sixteen-year-old-self, wondering if she has pizza on her dress or something stuck in her braces. Then we see her confidence build and she owns the room.We also had fun mixing a bunch of our favorite things together: beautifully composed shots by director Jun Diaz. En Vogue. And a cast with a John Hughes vibe, complete with ex quarterback turned car dealership salesman. I can smell the CK One from here.

Allow us to take you back to your high school days here.

By Kelsey Karst, Studio Art and Design Intern

As the Cannes Lions Festival kicks off this week, marketers and agencies across the globe are anxiously awaiting to discover who will take home the 2015 awards across the Health, Lions and Innovation tracks. “The Cannes Lions will recognize and award the year’s most exciting creative ideas across 20 categories, covering everything from traditional print and film communications to technology and product design,” according to canneslions.com. Ideas and brands will be recognized and celebrated, in addition to introducing new creative ideas for the upcoming year.This year, the spotlight is on Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat. Today at Cannes, Spiegel introduced what could become the most efficient, influential and useful media platform. Spiegel took the main stage to discuss his plan to open his company up to marketers, which is predicted by many to take the advertising world by storm. Discover partner and Cosmopolitan Editor in Chief Joanna Coles interviewed Spiegel onstage earlier this afternoon about creativity, millennials and what he thinks will excite this generation next.

Spiegel went into detail on the creation of Snapchat: four years ago in a college dorm room at Stanford with a few of his fraternity brothers. He goes on to discuss how “Snapchat is trying to incorporate relevant advertising without being creepily targeted in the messaging.” He touches on the importance of retaining the anonymity and privacy of users while still providing the tools advertisers need to be effective. Spiegel discussed that brands now have the ability to sponsor videos, location-based filters that viewers use when they are within a certain geographic area. He also highlighted the newest advertiser taking part, which is Procter and Gamble, who sponsored Snapchat’s Father’s Day story live-stream. A lot of today’s crowd was just getting introduced to Snapchat, but this talk left both Spiegel and the audience confident in the progression of this app and what it will do for the advertising world, according to Garett Sloane of Adweek.What is especially worth noting is that, even just a couple of years ago, Snapchat would never have been deemed credible enough to be featured at Cannes. The brand’s evolution is extraordinary. What started as a peer-to-peer-image-sending app soon grew to incorporate video, location and visual graphics. Snapchat then went on to tackle texting by adding a messaging platform. Most recently, Snapchat added the “discover” button to keep its users up to date on news and current events through select media partners like Comedy Central, ESPN, Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan and VICE. In just four short years, Snapchat essentially has it all. It has the ability to take market share away from WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter—which is what makes it so appealing to advertisers. It is not a once-a-day use application, it is a 20-per-day use application; this user frequency is advertising gold.

Brands can replicate this style of user behavior to better engage with the Snapchat community. Brands could essentially take more risks in their advertisements if they appeared on Snapchat. They could create humorous ads that could be viewed for that allotted time, and it would disappear. I also think the quick viewing of an advertisement would make it more appealing to users because it’s an interactive video that would only take 10 seconds to watch, rather than interrupting you for 30 seconds to a minute, like YouTube video ads. Because of poor planning, some advertisements come up at an inconvenient time and are too lengthy, causing viewers to be agitated rather than intrigued. If marketers played around with this idea by making the message visually appealing, humorous and/or playful for this younger audience, I think this could be a very successful outlet. Whether it’s a quick snap of a delicious Chipotle meal, or a five-second video of someone trying to shove a burrito down in one bite, it enables viewers to keep the brand top of mind.Recently, Snapchat showed its powerful impact during ABC’s broadcast of the American Music Awards. Three million viewers tuned in, while Snapchat Live Story broadcasted snippets of the event and drew in 11.5 million viewers, according to the Adweek article, “How Snapchat’s CEO Plans to Conquer the Advertising World. His first time at Cannes, Evan Spiegel is already star of the show.” As Snapchat continues to increase its user base and expand content options, advertising is starting to become part of this platform, as introduced today by Spiegel himself. Both Spiegel and Cannes Festival attendees seem excited to see what direction Snapchat could steer advertising and ideas, if anywhere at all.

By Zinny Bonner, Communication Intern

GSD&M’s first ITMAD event concluded yesterday after a series of sessions focused on innovation, entrepreneurial thinking and experience design with presenters from GSD&M and guest speakers from Southwest Airlines and Silvercar. As part of the event, we were also able to tour the U.S. Air Force’s latest experiential tour.

Starting off with a bang, or rather a jaw-dropping hologram demo, Heather Hvidsten, senior director of product management and product innovation at Southwest Airlines, presented Honk If You Are Sick of Talking About Innovation! With a father who worked at NASA and mother who is an artist, Heather was raised to think outside of the box. She looks at innovation with the mindset that every single person is perfect exactly the way they are. She encourages, “If you are passionate and not in a group that feels the same way, it’s not you, it’s the group. So change the group.” Innovation is about making something great ever better. To do this, Heather organizes rapid innovation workshops that encourage participants to open their minds and think differently. She puts crossfunctional teams together to accelerate the idea process. Most importantly, however, she engaged every aspect of Southwest Airlines’ team, from finance to creative, by emphasizing the many different roles involved in innovation. “The role of the supporter is just as important, if not more important, than the role of the idea creator,” she said.

The second session of the day, Capturing Moments & Building Stories: Instagram for Business, by Janice Suter, director of social media, and Caitlin McDaniel, senior social media manager, began with a display of how great ideas can come from a platform. With Instagram’s 64 million followers, brands everywhere are starting to notice the influence of the visually pleasing and culturally dominant platform. With Instagram, influencers offer something unique in shaping the story behind a brand —the ability to tell a brand’s story from a personal and genuine perspective. Brands can use these influencers along with unique content their own photo streams to engage audiences and take them places they’ve never been.

Having just opening its ninth location, Silvercar’s Russ Lemmer, co-founder and VP marketing, and Allen Darnell, CTO, presented Silvercar: Better Experience, Better Brand. Car rental is an industry notorious for lack of customer satisfaction and consistency. Silvercar recognized the need for a consistent, mobile-first and modern solution to car rental. To create a meaningful solution, Silvercar focused on taking advantage of all of the amazing tools and current technology available to maximize user experience. Russ Lemmer reminded the audience that one of the most powerful tools for the future of marketing is something we all have: the smartphone. Recognizing the value of smartphone technology, Silvercar is a 100% mobile service. By doing this, Silvercar cuts out most of what makes car rental a painful process in pursuit of their ultimate goal: a seamless product experience and maximum customer satisfaction. The less friction their customers have to endure, the more valuable they consider the Silvercar product.

Rye Clifton, the agency’s director of experience design, discussed Connect the Dots, La La La La: Dissecting the Components of a Startup & Reassembling Them for Your Clients. In this session, Rye pinpointed a few agency clients and other brands that are really paving the way for other companies and across different industries. Rye also chatted about the pros of thinking like a startup and noted it’s best to start small then add on to a brand experience, the big takeaway being the solution to a business problem is sometimes not an ad at all.

At the last session, Amanda Parker, senior media planner, gave an overview on some of the conversations at the recent Ad Age Digital Conference that sparked the original ITMAD idea. In Integrity & Insight: Conversations Sparked at Ad Age Digital, the main points established were everyone’s role in consumer experience management, why it’s crucial to have the right people in the room and how agencies provide platforms for data, tech and progress. When it comes to the consumer experience, a team must remember that everything leads back to consumers. They are what keeps a brand going; however, it is hard to control every aspect that affects the consumer experience, so teams must work together to keep the consumer in mind at every step.

Platforms are the new service that agencies bring to their clients, and the data they house and the innovation they allow are what move business and make good partners. Amanda Parker emphasized the importance of utilizing technology that has already been established, similar to Silvercar’s idea, in order to create a foundation for problem solving through calculated risks. We learned that innovation should be thought of as “70-20-10”: 70% are the things you know for sure work for your business, 20% are tested strategies that are still evolving and the final 10% is the room you have left to take a leap of faith in true innovation. In closing, Amanda said, “There was a lot to be gleaned from the best and the brightest in our industry, but at the end of the day it was really affirmed that we’re in the same progressive track here at GSD&M.”

Our first ITMAD (Ideas that Make a Difference) event started yesterday leaving the audience eager to hear today’s four sessions. Across the two-day mini conference, the conversation focuses on a range of topics including innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, experience design, disruption and creativity with GSD&M presenters as well as guest speakers Heather Hvidsten from Southwest Airlines and Russ Lemmer from Silvercar.

With a packed room so early in the morning, GSD&M’s Director of Experience Design Derek Dollahite kicked off ITMAD with Experience Design: No Best Practices When Designing for Happiness. Design invades our lives now more than ever, and Derek noted the power technology has in determining the future of design. “Experimental Design uses technology to emphasize user experience and create culturally relevant solutions” – his advice for incorporating experience design into your work? Takeaway: “ENKS” – Embrace Not Knowing Shit.Jonathan Hart, VP/Decision Sciences at the agency also wowed the attendees with his exploration of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Digital’s Place in the Origin and Development of the Universe, But Didn’t Know to Ask. In this, he walked through the evolution of digital in concert with the origin and organization of the universe, starting with the Big Bang and ending with positing that perhaps we are all just participants in a giant simulation of life as we know it. Understanding how the universe organizes itself gives us insight into the future of computational power as well, and a peek into a future in which we may cross the threshold of evolution with the introduction of conscious machines. In the words of visiting filmmaker Alex Johnson, “I didn’t know this was going to get spiritual!”

Alex R. Johnson brought his film, Two Step as part of a discussion of nurturing ideas, creative collaboration and sources of inspiration for storytelling. Alex also discussed his move from Brooklyn to Austin, and how the creative culture of Austin helped move a project along to fruition. In addition to being filmed entirely in Austin, Two Step features a cast that includes guest appearances by local music artists Dale Watson and Jesse Dayton, The film was scored by a local musician, Andrew Kenny, who Alex had originally met doing commercial production and music videos in New York City. The film was a riveting thriller that kept the audience on edge. Let’s just say after watching you might think twice about using drive-up ATMs.

As the last session, Digital Producer Amanda Traversi and Account Manager Adrienne Strange presented “WTF? We Do This S**t?” Launching the Air Force Performance Lab. In this, they gave an in-depth look at the creative, production processes, technologies and partnerships involved in creating the latest U.S. Air Force experiential tour now crossing the country. As noted, “unlike most brands, you can’t try on or test the Air Force. In turn, our team sets out to create the most engaging and inspiring experience possible.” They proved that if there is a will, there is a way, especially working with a set of partners all focused on the success of the project and a deep understanding of the project goals. After exploring countless new technologies and options, they made the trailer a completely physical experience by providing visual, competitive, and informative games. The team also mentioned they looked beyond the experiential aspect of the project as well, by measuring and recording data, which is involved in reengaging potential recruits and serves as valuable data for the future.

Hey, health isn’t everything. You’re missing the second half of the equation. Health and happiness are not exclusive of each other, they are inclusive. They need each other. They feed off of one another. There isn’t a better example of that than Red Nose Day. A true embodiment of “Happy and Healthy”, Red Nose Day is about having fun, raising money and changing lives in the process (www.rednoseday.org).

And as a perfect example of being “At the Corner of Happy and Healthy”, Walgreens saw the opportunity to play an integral role of Red Nose Day – be the “Corner” where Red Nose becomes real, tangible and personal. As the exclusive retailer, Walgreens became home to the noses and the start of the Red Nose Day movement. Through an intense social, digital and omni channel effort, Walgreens brought Red Nose Day to life. We developed a campaign encouraging consumers to come to Walgreens, buy your nose, donate a couple bucks and be a little funny for money. And with 5 million noses sold, thousands of selfies shared and close to $10 million dollars raised at Walgreens alone, Red Nose Day is here! Tonight we celebrate Red Nose Day with a 3 hour live, comedic telethon event on NBC.

So grab your nose, your remote, your family, your favorite knock-knock joke and see how the power of happy and healthy comes to life with a good laugh for a good cause – Red Nose Day!

As we say in our :60 second spot you’ll see tonight… It’s funny how a little red nose can have such a big impact.

Red Nose Day, Live on NBC, Tonight, May 21 from 7-10pm CST.

“More content was created yesterday than you can consume in a lifetime.”
—Dawn Ostroff, Condé Nast Entertainment

So it’s true. Content truly is king, and vast is his castle.

This week, we’ve been learning how content has dominated our culture, our audiences and our time spent, and translating those shifts into what that means for us at the agency and our clients.

We’re just getting Newfronts started here in New York. The Newfronts is a two-week long event, similar to the TV upfronts, where leaders in premium content and digital video announce new original programming, new distribution deals and new talent partnerships to excite agencies and marketing decision makers for the year to come, in hopes of attracting advertising budgets.We’ve got a packed agenda: listening, watching and meeting with media giants like The New York Times, BuzzFeed, Hulu, Yahoo!, AOL and many others.

Here are some of our early predictions.

Jacks of all trades.

We’ll be seeing more content providers and publishers diversifying offerings—meaning more tactics, targeting and placement opportunities than ever before. They’ll position their offerings as a “one-stop shop” for all client and agency needs, from data-targeted buys, to high impact to content creation and distribution. An example of this is Yahoo!, which has really amped up their capabilities with their acquisition of key players in social, mobile and video, namely Tumblr, Flurry and BrightRoll.

The once start-ups take the main stage.

Many once-small digital properties are going mass, attracting larger audiences and gaining in time spent—truly gaining ground on the more established media giants and shaking up the status quo. Hulu, for example, has quickly dominated the marketplace in its young eight years.

To combat audiences shifting, programmers at media companies will continue to strive for the next big hit show, investing more in production in hopes of attracting audiences who are burdened with content choices. We predict fall sweeps will be among the best programming we’ve seen in order to retain audiences and combat fierce competition.

What you’re going to see are some big announcements from independent, digital-focused media companies breaking more into traditional channels like TV.

The younger media companies get it;—they not only appeal to the millennials but they understand how content is consumed fluidly—and have invested in platforms that deliver anytime, anywhere. Vice, for example, has quickly become a leader in original storytelling through video, which has enabled it to grow its audience.

Millennialization of media.

When it comes to programming this fall, you’re going to see more shows and content devoted to millennials coming of age. And you’re going to see this programming offered anytime, anywhere through devices and smartphones as millennials are turning off the TV and instead turning to more personal, portable devices. Expect to see more live programs as well.

Every story told.

Our last prediction is that content will become more diverse, not only in terms of format—long, short and even virtual—but also in terms of the types of stories it will tell and the storylines it will feature. We’ll predict content will be inclusive of every walk of life, truly leaving no story untold.

It’s no fairy tale; we’ll be seeing more brands aligning with audiences through content and well-told stories.